Never Meant to Be
by TheWhateverFreak
Summary: Kismet brought them together as best friends. They were never meant to fall in love. The story of a doomed romance between two star-crossed lovers. The never-ending fight against fate. Contemporary Romeo and Juliet/Cinderella Story.


**Never meant to be**

Summary: Kismet brought them together as best friends. They were never meant to fall in love. The story of a doomed romance between two star-crossed lovers. The never-ending fight against fate. Contemporary Romeo and Juliet/Cinderella Story.

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**A/N: A nice first chapter.**

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As soon she opened her eyes, light filled her vision, blinding her momentarily. Then, it dimmed, allowing her to shift out from her dazed state and realize what day it was.

The first day of High school freshmen year.

Jolting up quickly, the brunette threw off the quilt and rolled of the bed gracefully. As soon as her feet made contact with the soft comfort of the beige rug that covered the entire expense of her bedroom floor, she bounced off the soles and skipped, suddenly every excited, to her wardrobe. Throwing the doors wide open, her eyes swiftly assessed the clothes it encased. She let her gaze linger at some items of apparel and, just as quickly, move off. By the time her eyes had thoroughly scanned through the wide selection of clothes, she was slightly frustrated. She wondered why it was always the first day of a new milestone in life she had a wardrobe crisis. She had experienced the same trouble the year she had entered middle school.

Quickly pulling out a random outfit, she let her eyes roam over it. Too boring. Hastily chucking it to the floor, she pulled out another set. She dropped it like it was fire on her hands and rapidly moved her hands back into the closet. Way too slutty. By the time her floor looked like it had been the unfortunate scene of a hurricane, her wardrobe was nearly bare and she still hadn't found the perfect outfit. First impressions were always important, as she liked to think. Sparing a quick glance at the clock that hung on her wall, she gulped inconspicuously and hastened her pace. Another thirty minutes before she absolutely had to go down for breakfast.

Finally seeing that the last few outfits that hung pathetically in her wardrobe wouldn't do, she ran a hand through her hair and groaned. Major crisis. How was she going to get out of it? Squeezing her eyes shut, she racked her brain for an answer. What did she want? Something normal? Something that expressed her real attitude? Something fancy and eye-catching? She really didn't know. Suddenly, the image of an impeccable outfit flashed in her mind and she smiled, opening her eyes again. Throwing herself onto the floor, she dug under her bed and brought out a box from underneath. Tearing the lid off, her hands searched past the ruffled paper and found the delicate material wrapped under it. She slowly took it out, smiling so much her cheeks started to hurt as her eyes met it.

Perfect.

Shoving the item of clothing on, she dashed to her full-length mirror and almost blushed. She couldn't deny that she looked hot, even to herself. No amount of modesty could curb the growing sensation of pride she felt rising in her chest. She silently thanked the heavens for her intrinsic flair of style. Wrapped tightly to her body was an outfit easily categorized into the easy-going, outgoing genre. Her eyes trailed down her virtual outfit in the mirror, from the loose, mostly white elbow-length shirt with a neck hole so big that half of it flowed over one shoulder and to just above her chest, revealing a white strap in the nape of her neck, covering her bra. The shirt fell down to the top half of her thigh. Tight-fitting three-quarter jeans covered her legs. She was presently bare-footed but she knew the perfect pair of shoes to match the outfit. Beaming from ear to ear, she stepped away from the mirror, slightly reluctant to remove her eyes from the gorgeous image in the mirror, and moved on to the hair accessories. She selected a pair of guitar earrings and put them on, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't bother with the hair; it was naturally curled into soft swirls.

Her goal was to get a guy. She had spent the past summer holidays reading up on flirting techniques, hairstyles and other things a girl needed to know. High school was a big step in life and if she couldn't grab a guy then, she wouldn't be able to get one later. A dribble of doubt entered her mind – what if she didn't have a boyfriend at all during high school? She knew internally that it was a very trivial thing to worry about; it didn't really matter if she couldn't land a cute guy by sophomore year. But something inside her suffocated her heart at the thought of being the only outcast, the anomaly in the school. Call her paranoid or just plain crazy, but she could practically see the headlines.

FREAKY GIRL CAN'T LAND A DATE.

She gulped. Making a weak attempt at resisting the negative thoughts that pried at her weak spots in her heart and mind, she walked over to her desk and strapped on her watch. Stuffing her new school books, mobile phone and purse into her oversized sling bag, she hitched the now heavy bag onto her shoulder, which soon started to strain under the weight, and hurried out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. Placing her bag onto the tall kitchen chair was a reprieve. Before sliding into the one next to the chair her bag occupied, she grabbed a bowl and a spoon and poured herself a generous amount of cereal. Gulping down on the slightly soggy flakes, her first-day-of-high-school adrenaline catching up on her physical actions, she practically threw the bowl and spoon into the sink, hoping that they wouldn't break. Grabbing her bag again, she dashed to the living room and slipped on black boots. Then, she was otu on the porch and locking the door, the key stumbling at times in her shaky hands. As soon as the door was successfully locked, she was off, walking swiftly down the sidewalk to school.

Halfway to school, a soft breeze picked up, playing with her curls and providing her with a refreshing walk the rest of the way. As soon as East High swam into her line of vision, her heart rate sped up quite a bit and she quickened her pace significantly. Too soon, she was standing at the front lawn of the massive school, motionless amongst a thick stream of students.

"Wow," Gabriella whispered, letting out a low whistle. Wrestling her phone out from her bag, she snapped a quick picture of the impressive exterior of her new school and entitled the photo 'East High'. Clicking her phone shut, she returned it to its rightful place in her bag and walked up the steps to the inside of the building, committing everything to memory. She wanted to preserve every second of her high school experience.

A cold gush of air rushed to meet her as she entered the air-conditioned building. Her skin tingled slightly as small goose bumps appeared. She surveyed her fellow schoolmates, smiling discreetly as a few boys turned to wink at her suggestively. Getting a boyfriend now probably wouldn't be a problem now. Strolling confidently down the corridor, she pulled out her schedule and personal information the school had issued her.

_Locker 249._

Her eyes moved over the locker numbers to her right. She was currently standing next to locker number 237. She walked a short distance and before she knew it, she was shoving her heavy books into her new locker. She knew that she had approximately ten minutes before class. Her fun-loving side wanted to ditch the class; it was only homeroom. Her practical side wanted her to be present for her first homeroom in high school. As she deliberated over the small issue, she closed her locker door and leaned against it, her eyes absently roaming over some cute guys across from her. After a while, she realized that one of them was studying her. A sizzle of warm emotions flowed through her arms.

He had the typical bad-boy look. His dirty-blonde hair was tussled, looking just the right amount of messy. His blue eyes were light at the moment but they darkened rapidly as they roamed over her body, like he was concentrating. Gabriella noticed with a jolt that besides the piercing eyes and the messy hair, which flopped sexily onto his forehead, concealing a bit of his eyes and giving him a mysterious vibe, he had a handsome face and a muscular body. His jaw line was defined, giving him a mature look. His black shirt, topped by a frayed vest made out of the same material for blue jeans, stretched over his well-built chest, accentuating the fact that he exercised a lot. His sleeves reached only to his forearms and Gabriella licked her lips subtly as her eyes moved down the muscular arms. The muscles didn't bulge out like those a professional wrestler had but they were big enough to be noticed. His bottom half was covered in loose jeans, held together by a black belt.

In short, he was perfect boyfriend material.

Gabriella felt his eyes on her face so she moved hers up to his and their eyes connected. Gabriella was slightly disappointed that she didn't feel any tingle of electricity the magazines had said one would feel if something was felt between two people of the opposite sex but his deep gaze almost made up for it. Gabriella didn't blush, knowing exactly how she wanted a relationship to be, if she even got one. She wanted to be in control. She needed to feel the control, the feeling of being the boss and leading the way. She wasn't going to back down.

And she refused to blush. Any girl whose eyes happened to connect to his cerulean blue orbs would blush or giggle. But that was why they weren't Gabriella. Gabriella didn't look away, nor did she blush or giggle. She held the gaze evenly, not showing any trace of embarrassment or intimidation. A slow smirk formed on his face and his eyes twinkled. Gabriella raised an eyebrow at him. His smirk grew more pronounced.

She needed to find out who he was. Gabriella knew that she wanted him. She wanted him for herself. She wanted to go to Prom with him and date him and kiss him freely daily. She knew it sounded like a child's daydream but it was a want nevertheless. She blushed internally as she realized she was thinking so much about him upon their first meeting. Then her strong dominant side flared up and she smiled back at him, hoping it didn't look flirtatious. She wanted to play hard-to-get. She knew she wanted to. She didn't want the courtship, if there even was one, to last for a few days before going down in shreds. At least not for her first one. She shifted slightly so that she was off the locker.

Then the bell rang.

Gabriella didn't even blink. She just felt a dull thud of realization that time flew past very quickly when one was having fun. She grinned a little more as she gave the mysterious guy a last look before breaking the gaze and walking off to homeroom. Her practical side had won the small arguement.

Freshman year was going to be fun.

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**A/N: What did you think?**

**Andie B.**


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